AUBURN, Ala. — Kirby Smart got no explanation on the officials’ goal-line fumble call in the second quarter of the Bulldogs matchup at Auburn on Saturday.
“Frustrating, but the kids never quit,” the Georgia coach said. “That’s never been more evident of a punch out on the goal line, which we practice all the time. … I never got an explanation and, of course, they took the longest I’ve ever seen (reviewing). All I was told was someone saw a clear recovery, but they said he was down. I still don’t know if he was down, but the officials said he was down. … I saw the ball from the sideline jostle out, but couldn’t tell if it crossed the line or not.”
The play, a third-and-goal run by Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold at the 1-yard line with 1:32 to go to halftime, was originally thought to be an Auburn touchdown.
Instead, Georgia inside linebackers Raylen Wilson and CJ Allen punched the ball out of Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold’s arms together, they claimed postgame, and defensive back Kyron Jones took it all the way downtown for what was assumed to be a 99-yard score.
“Shoot, we both punched at the same time like you jumping somebody,” Wilson explained with a laugh. “We jumped the ball on that play.”
Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton said he thought it was a touchdown for Georgia at first. He didn’t hear a whistle; just saw Jones running it back 100-yards back to the opposing end zone. Wide receiver Colbie Young wasn’t surprised the defense had come out and made a stop, but he was glad the drive still ended with some points. It gave them momentum.
Offensive lineman Drew Bobo said he doesn’t know the rule there, if they can overturn it and say they took it all the way back, but if they hadn’t blown it dead, they could’ve.
“Kyron, I don’t think he was down, but we came out and knew we were going QB sneak if we were pretty much on the half yard line and we had to get a yard, even half a yard to get a little bit of wiggle room,” Bobo said. “I saw (Kyron) running and someone was yelling, ‘Go score, go score!’ He ran all the way down there, … but I’m happy (CJ and Raylen) got a punch out).”
“I was just hoping they didn’t score,” Allen added.
In the end, after officials spent more than five minutes reviewing, it was called Georgia ball, but no touchdown. The Bulldogs lined up for a first-and-10 on their own 1-yard line and burned down the final 1:26 in the quarter, capping a 12 play, 88-yard drive.
Georgia (5-1) hosts No. 4 Ole Miss (6-0) on Saturday, Oct. 18, at 3:30 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: What did Kirby Smart have to say about the goal-line fumble vs Auburn?
